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Monday, September 17, 2012

Signs that the apocalypse is near. Part 2

I reviewed a few signs of the impending apocalypse in a
previous blog. It looks like it will take many blogs to cover all the signs
that keep appearing. Here we go.

Tech company Citrix released the results of a
national survey which showed that 51% of Americans think that the weather can
affect cloud computing.

A Swissair flight from Zurich to Beijing had to turn back
when two passengers began to fight over a reclining
seat. The men fought in the aisle, rolled around and cursed at each other. Why
can’t we all just get along?

If you’re a man, it’s OK to walk around naked in San
Francisco. However, what you cannot do is wear a ring (ahem) … down there, but
only if someone complains about it. I haven’t been to San Francisco in quite a
while and the photo (SFW) accompanying the article
does not make me miss being there at all.

The Chief Diversity Officer at the State Department has
issued an advisory
which says that the use of phrases like “hold down the fort," “going
Dutch” and “rule of thumb” are racially or culturally insensitive and should
not be used.

In cooperation with the Discovery Channel, Harvard
University, which made my first list because of its cheating scandal, is
presenting a “media training boot camp
for doctors.” The advertisement says, “This amazing 3-day event is only $1997
to attend.” I’ll pass.

A cheating
scandal has rocked the world of competitive Scrabble. A contestant was
caught with extra blank tiles. I’m not sure how he planned to use them since
the game has only two and it would have been pretty obvious is he played a
third one. I suppose the next thing will be doping in chess.

Professional image consultants charge $300 per hour to coach
young women on what to wear and how to speak during college sorority rush week.
The business is called “Rushbiddies.” The ABC news story has a happy ending as
the woman featured in the story
was accepted into Alpha Phi, which was her first choice.

A 2011 test of US eighth and twelfth graders reveals that
only about 27% had proficient writing skills even if they had access to spell
check. The problem is those who didn’t do well had poor organizational and
grammar skills. According to the story,
“In 2007, 33 percent of eighth grade students scored at the proficient level,
which represents solid writing skills, as did 24 percent at grade 12.” The most
recent test was done on computers while the 2007 students used things called
pencils and paper.

A dance school in British Columbia is offering pole
dancing classes to grade school children. If that's not bad enough, note that parents
have enrolled children at $70 for an hour session. “The kids just love it,”
said [the] president of the Canadian Pole Fitness Association, which is said to
be holding championships in what it association president says is becoming a “sport.”